Karen Ray Henry was born April 26, 1956 in Pasadena, CA, to Raymond Leon and Sarah Jesse (Sullivan) Converse. She grew up in nearby Rosemead CA, and attended public schools there, where she was active in choir. Her dad drove a Peterbilt dump truck delivering asphalt to the many road projects around Los Angeles, and in the summers Karen would often ride with him. She helped her dad wash and clean the truck, and would often run out and start it for him in the mornings, so it would be warmed up and ready to go when he was. She joked that her mother never knew that she knew how to start the truck. Ray’s health issues forced him to give up his truck driving in 1974, and prevailing upon an acquaintance with Oklahoma Welfare Director Lloyd Rader, he took a job with the Oklahoma Department of Public Welfare (now DHS) and moved the family to Oklahoma City. Karen finished her senior year at Del City High School in 1974. Eventually, Karen’s mom Sarah also took a job with DPW, and after taking some business courses, Karen joined them. She held several positions in DHS performing keypunch work and typing, before becoming a medical transcriptionist in the Radiology department of Children’s Hospital, which was operated by DHS. She eventually became the department secretary, and it was in that position in the summer of 1980 that she met George (Kip) Henry, who was applying for an administrative job in the department. They worked together for over a year and then began dating. Their relationship blossomed, and on November 19th, 1982, they were married. Both Karen and Kip continued working for the OU Teaching Hospitals for the remainder of their careers, surviving the upheaval of the oil crash in the mid-1980s and the state budgetary crisis that followed, and the transition from state to private management. Karen worked in various roles, including the Children’s Hospital Administrator’s office, Risk Management, and Human Resources, before retiring in 2015 to care for her aging mother. Kip and Karen endured the ups and downs of married life, but hung together through some difficult trials, and in October 1990, they welcomed a daughter, Skylar Elisabeth, into their hearts. Skylar was a ray of sunshine for them both, and they loved taking her to the zoo, Easter egg hunts, and many school activities. On her sixteenth birthday, her grandmother Sarah gifted her with a trip to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, and they would return several times. They watched with pride as she graduated from Oklahoma Christian Academy High School in 2009, and then from Oklahoma Christian University in 2013. Then they watched as she pursued her dream of working for the Walt Disney Company, first taking an internship, then a full time position at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. Karen loved caring for and decorating their home. She loved the Christmas season with a passion, always looking forward to decorating the home for the holidays. She listened to Christmas music throughout the year, watched Hallmark Channel Christmas movies throughout the holiday season or whenever they were airing, and always visited North Pole City on opening weekend. She enjoyed meeting for lunch with her former coworkers, and having Sunday dinners after church with their dear friends, Billy and Vicki Pratt. After Skylar returned home in 2019, she and her mother spent much time together, forging an even deeper bond. In November 2024, Karen began feeling ill, ultimately requiring hospitalization, where it was discovered she had advanced cancer. She died Sunday, December 1, 2024 in Edmond, OK at the age of 68 years, with Kip and Skylar holding her hands as she passed. Karen was preceded in death by her parents, Ray and Sarah Converse, sisters Betty Starkes, Doris Sellars, and Kay Zimmerman, and brother Bill DaVee. She is survived by her husband of 42 years, Kip, daughter Skylar, and grand-furbabies, Loki, Kesha and Frodo, of the home; sister Janice Reynolds of Rancho Cucamonga, CA, many nieces and nephews, and a host of friends.
Visitation for Karen will be held on Sunday, December 8, 2024, from 4 – 8 PM at Buchanan Funeral Service, 8712 N Council Rd. Oklahoma City, OK 73132. Her funeral service will be held on Monday, December 9, 2024, at 2 PM at Buchanan Funeral Service with interment following immediately after at Chapel Hill Cemetery, 8701 NW Expressway, Oklahoma City, OK 73162.
